Global Platform - Cancun 2017

22nd-26th May 2017 | From Commitment to Action

This webpage is the GNDR portal to the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, organised by UNISDR. In here, GNDR members will find information about the event and the activities and the participation of GNDR staff and its members. Use the links below to download key resources before, during and after the event.

What is the 2017 Global Platform?

The Global Platform is the main forum at the global level for strategic advice, coordination, partnership development and the review of progress in the implementation of international instruments on disaster risk reduction. It was established in 2006 and is now the world's foremost gathering of stakeholders committed to reducing disaster risk and building the resilience of communities and nations. The Global Platform holds biennial sessions. To date, there have been four, in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013, all of them held in Geneva. The 2015 edition did not take place, given that that year saw the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, which included a significant and highly appreciated multi-stakeholder dimension.

What we wanted from the 2017 Global Platform

GNDR was hoping for a strong participation from the network and its members to the Global Platform to be held in Cancún, Mexico between the 22nd and 26th May. You can see the programme at the official website. GNDR and the Climate Action Network (CAN) were invited by UNISDR to be the focal points for NGOs. We provided information to help NGOs navigate the Global Platform in the run up to and during the conference. We also organised a preparatory meeting for all NGOs in Cancún, the day before the formal agenda started.

GNDR at the 2017 Global Platform for DRR

GNDR worked with a range of networks globally to coordinate our messages and put together a joint advocacy initiative calling for more systematic collaboration between governments and civil society in the design of DRR strategies. We applied for a marketplace booth that became a mini-world showcasing the fantastic work being undertaken by our members around the globe. We also shared the visual and interactive Frontline data and stories of local risk and resilience at a special pre-event on the 22nd May, as well as launching our plans to initiate a new Views from the Frontline 2017.

InCollaboration: joint advocacy initiative with NGO networks

GNDR has been working with 17 NGO networks globally to coordinate our messages and implement a joint advocacy initiative for this Platform. By joining together our voices were louder and we could build on our calling for: More systematic collaboration between governments and communities in the design of DRR strategies.

The Group worked on two resources that you are also welcome to use in your advocacy:

‘How’s Your Collaboration?’ Scorecards:

Take a look at the scorecards we distributed during the event! The aim of these scorecards is to get governments and organisations reflecting on their own levels of collaboration with communities and the entry points for this collaboration. There is one scorecard for governments and one scorecard for NGOs.

How can you use these scorecards?

1. Meet with your governments and use them to initiate discussion about the need for systematic collaboration with local actors

2. Use them or mention them in your events with other actors

3. Hand them out at events

4. Quiz yourself to see what you’re doing well and where you can improve!

Case Studies of Collaboration

We have been collecting stories of successful collaboration between governments and communities to demonstrate what can be achieved. You can read the 24 case studies here.

Marketplace booth

We were allocated a booth/stand that proved to be a mini-world showcasing the fantastic work being undertaken by our members around the world. It was important to have a physical place with space to demonstrate the contribution that NGOs, as a sector, are currently making and able to offer to the rest of the stakeholders, working together to ensure a more resilient world.

This space also served as a meeting point for NGOs attending the Global Platform.

Frontline event

Title: Views from the Frontline

Taking place from 13.30-15.30 in the Expo Centre 4, Moon Palace on 22nd May, the event shared the findings and practical lessons from our Frontline programme which for about 2 years has been collecting data on local risk and resilience priorities. This has been collated into an open source platform which can be disaggregated by age, gender, community, education. We have been building the capacities of different stakeholders to use the findings for local action planning, resilience policy making, coalition building, and advocacy.

The event ended with the launch of our plans to initiate a new Views from the Frontline monitoring programme (VFL 2017), which will aim to monitor how inclusive and people-centred the implementation of the post-2015 frameworks is, at the local and national levels. The event was very interactive and attendants could listen and chat with the Frontline leaders from 10 countries, and discuss the methodology and results, plus ways for all actors to engage.

10 Year Anniversary of GNDR activities

2017 is the tenth anniversary of the establishment of GNDR and we are thinking of different ways to mark this occasion with the members and partners who have been key to GNDR’s growth and impact. At the Global Platform for DRR we throw a small birthday party, and showed a video of the history of GNDR.

Acting as NGO focal point

GNDR and the Climate Action Network (CAN) were invited by UNISDR as the focal points for NGOs. We provided information to help NGOs navigate the Global Platform in the run up to and during the conference, and disseminated this on an NGO email listserv. We also organised a preparatory meeting from 11.30-13.30 in Arena D on the 23rd May for all NGOs in Cancun, before the formal agenda had started.

Engaging from afar

For those that did not attend the Global Platform, there were opportunities to engage from afar. GNDR set up a listserv to provide regular updates to NGOs. We also live tweeted from the sessions. The Views from the Frontline side event was broadcast live through Facebook.

Outcome documents

Report on the participation of GNDR members and staff at the 2017 GPDRR: [ENGLISH742.76 KB]